Evidence for a sex pheromone in the hide beetle,Dermestes maculatus (De Geer) (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)

Adults of the hide beetle,Dermestes maculatus (De Geer), were shown to have a female-produced sex pheromone which excited males. Male response was positively correlated with increasing age, but females produced a higher level of pheromone at 6–8 days of age than at younger or older ages. Extractable female pheromone and male response varied over the photophase with peak values that occurred during the latter hours. Quantitative bioassay indicated that the 50% male response level (RD₅₀) would be elicited by a pheromone exposure of 0.01 female equivalents (FE). Females extracted 24 hr after mating had a lower level of extractable pheromone than did virgin females of the same age.Mention of a proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.